


Neko Atsume

by Razra_Eizel (Eleana_Lee)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2019-01-17 14:33:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12367794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eleana_Lee/pseuds/Razra_Eizel
Summary: Having had the family funds seized by the Ministry, and no one who would hire him, Draco turned to business where he could correct his image as well.  Living in the Muggle world opened his eyes to a possibly profitable business venture—cat cafes





	Neko Atsume

**Author's Note:**

> Not my best work, but I’ve tried my best given the time constraint. I love cats, would love to own one myself in the future, so this prompt caught my attention. Hopefully it’s an enjoyable read.

After the end of the War, the Malfoy family was separated from each other. Lucius was sent to Azkaban for his involvement with Voldemort. Narcissa was pardoned, but decided to leave Wizarding London, and instead stayed in France. Draco was sent to a correctional facility for troubled youth in Muggle London, and it nearly drove him crazy because he couldn’t use magic and no one knew what he was talking about and vice versa, because they lived in such different worlds.

It wasn’t all bad, however. The officer in charge of him was actually a witch who chose to live in Muggle London, and she was nice to him. She knew of his involvement during the War, but strongly believed in second chances, which was why she worked at a correctional facility in the first place.

When he was released, after he served his time there and did enough community service hours, she also offered him a room in her flat to share. She knew he had no intention to return to Malfoy Manor, and he didn’t want to live in Spinner’s End either. It would be hard to live in a strange new place by himself, so living with her would mean living with a familiar face, at least.

“You know,” Sarah, his correctional officer, said as she stood at the entrance of the room he now occupied. “It really wouldn’t kill you to clean your room more than once a month.”

“Shush, you sound like my mother,” Draco said as he laid on his bed, staring at his laptop.

He was amazed at Muggle technology when Sarah introduced them to him, and was now attached to his laptop and smartphone. He wondered how he lived without them before, and had managed to convince Pansy to get a smartphone as well for easier communication.

“Well, your mother apparently didn’t nag you enough,” Sarah huffed, the fine lines on her forehead becoming more prominent as she frowned. It was a bit of a sore spot, as she wished to believe she would be forever young, and Draco kept telling her that she would always be forever young at heart.

“I’m doing research,” Draco reasoned. “A small unit along the main street will be for sale soon. I reckon I could get it for cheaper if I talk to the real estate agent now, before any other bidder.”

“Probably,” Sarah said. “Have you thought about what you wanted to do then?”

“Yeah, sort of,” Draco hummed. “Have you heard of cat cafes?”

“Of course I have. What do you take me for?” Sarah snorted.

“A hip aunt?” Draco asked with a grin.

Although their official relationship was an officer and her charge, Sarah was actually taken by Draco when she first saw him. She was barren, and had rotten luck with relationships, and had practically adopted Draco then. While he didn’t say it, he was really thankful that he had her during the two years he spent at the facility too.

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Well, maybe it’s a good idea,” she said as she looked up to the top of the wardrobe, where a small fluff ball was resting. “I don’t understand why Merlin likes that spot so much.”

“It’s closest to the radiator upstairs,” Draco said. “I’m actually worried at how he could sense that. Is our ceiling really that thin?”

Sarah sighed. “Maybe,” she said. “This place is a dump.”

“It’s home,” Draco said with a shrug. It surprised himself how he adapted to the small one-bedroom flat. His room was actually a study room that had been converted to another bedroom. It was much smaller than the Manor, and maybe even smaller than his room, but he liked it anyway, because it looked lived in and cosy.

Sarah smiled a little. “Maybe it’s a good idea,” she said. “And then you can be adopted by all those strays.”

Draco snorted. They both knew that it wasn’t him that adopted Merlin, but rather Merlin who adopted him.

He had to work at a cat shelter for a couple of months as part of his community service. Some of the staff there were wary of him, but Merlin, the renowned old and grumpy cat, took to him and practically took him under his paws. He stayed by Draco’s side at all times, and would hiss at anyone who approached them with less than unsavoury intentions. All the pranksters learned their lessons quite quickly.

“Do you ever have plans of going back to Wizarding London?” Draco inquired suddenly. Merlin, as if noticing the sudden change of topic, peeked at them in slight interest, although he still looked mostly unimpressed.

“Why do you ask?” Sarah asked back. “Do you want to return?”

“I have no one there,” Draco said, “but one day I’d still like to return to where it all started, you know?”

“I know,” Sarah replied. “I do still visit Wizarding London sometimes.”

“Call me sentimental, but I want to be back where life started for me,” Draco said, turning around so that he was facing the ceiling. “I’d like to bring my mother back too if she wants; and maybe you two can meet. I’m sure you’ll like each other.”

“She sounds like a good woman,” Sarah commented, “from all your stories about her.”

“So are you,” Draco said, glancing at Sarah. “She thinks so too, as she said in her letters.”

“Well, maybe if this business venture of yours works out, you can open one in Wizarding London,” Sarah said, her smile widening. “Then you won’t have to answer to anyone but yourself.”

“I don’t know if they’ll try to make life difficult for me, though,” Draco admitted.

“They probably will,” Sarah said bluntly, “but when did you ever let that stop you?”

Draco laughed. “You’re right,” he said, then peeked at Merlin. “And maybe it’ll be good for Merlin to be bothered by kittens once in a while.”

“He’ll scratch you if he knows what you’re talking about,” Sarah said. “And I’m sure the people at the shelter will be more than happy to let you adopt some kittens to get you started.”

“I sure hope so,” Draco said. “I’m not going to buy them when there are still so many at the shelter that needs to be adopted.”

“You’re a good kid, Draco,” Sarah said with a fond smile. “Come out for lunch.”

“Alright.”

As they were walking towards the small dining and living area, Sarah glanced at him.

“You weren’t talking about the main street near here, were you?”

“No.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

It took a lot of work and capital, and Draco was infinitely thankful that Kingsley decided not to seize the whole Malfoy funds, as he decided that the portion that rightfully belonged to Narcissa and Draco shouldn’t be seized for Lucius’ fines.

His mother was encouraging, as were his friends. Blaise had helped with the haggling for the shop. Pansy would occasionally come by with décor recommendations. Luna, who had suddenly decided to be his friend after his trial (she had actually walked up to him and announced that she was his friend and started sending him letters while he was at the facility), would come and help charm all the furniture and things to be unbreakable, especially from scratches.

He was glad that although he lost some of his “friends”, he found out which ones were loyal to him.

The upper level of the shop was a small unit, not that much different from the one they were staying in, so Draco convinced Sarah to move in there, so that they didn’t have to pay rent anymore, and for once she would be able to afford things to treat herself. She reluctantly agreed, and was transferred to a newly established correctional facility for the youths of Wizarding London.

“You be careful at work, okay,” Draco said. “These kids have magic, and I don’t trust them.”

Sarah chuckled. “I’ll see you for dinner,” she said as she kissed his forehead. “Are the cats coming today?”

“Yeah,” Draco said with a fond smile. “I decided to adopt Ginger, Hairball, and Taffy to start with.”

Sarah nodded, knowing they were the ones Draco was most attached to. The kittens had physical flaws; Ginger had a deformed hind leg, Hairball had a scar over one eye, and Taffy had a small patch of skin where his fur couldn’t grow. These flaws made them less appealing to the adopters, so of course Draco decided to take them from the shelter.

Diagon Alley was crowded as usual. He had kept the shop front hidden from sight with fencing, so the passers-by couldn’t guess what kind of shop was opening there. He wanted to be a surprise, and since it would be Diagon Alley’s first cat café (or the Wizarding London’s, for that matter), he knew it would be quite a surprise.

Luna had offered to work there as a wait staff. Draco knew better than to question her. Goyle came to work at nights, helping lift boxes and sort ingredients in the storeroom. Pansy came to help him with the books sometimes, and he accepted some kids from the facility Sarah worked at to complete their re-integration into society program.

When the café finally opened, there were more patrons that he could imagine. Apparently, witches do love cats, and the Muggles weren’t too far off on that.

“What are you doing here?” Draco asked as he frowned. He was manning the register and didn’t see the Golden Trio come up to him.

“Well, it’s a public place, isn’t it?” Harry asked. “There’s no sign anywhere that says we’re not welcome.”

“Luna invited us here,” Hermione added before the two could get involved in a petty fight. “I’ll say, I’m surprised, but pleasantly so.”

Ginger came tumbling along, rolling onto Draco’s hand, and mewed. He had difficulty jumping because of his deformed leg, although his gait was getting better.

“What are you doing, you silly cat,” Draco said as he picked Ginger up. “You’re supposed to get to know these nice people like your brothers.”

Ginger yawned and settled down on his palms. Draco rolled his eyes. “Do you want to hold him?” he asked the three.

“Yesplease,” Hermione answered in a rush, and basically stole Ginger from Draco’s hand. “The entry fee covers a bag of cat feed, right?”

“Yeah,” Draco said, handing them a small paper bag of feed each. The door was charmed to not let anyone through without paying the entry fee to the piggy bank set up there, but the windows were large and they could see what was happening inside, and could see if it would be worth their money to go inside. “You can buy more here, but don’t feed them too much or they’d get too spoiled.”

“Are you going to adopt more cats?” Hermione asked as she stroked Ginger’s chin, and nearly cooed when he purred.

“Of course,” Draco said, “but not too soon. I’m still having a bit of a hard time caring for them when it’s not shop hours. Maybe I should extend the hours so the guests can help care for them too.”

“That’s nice of you,” Harry suddenly commented. “I’m sure they’re glad to have a good life now.”

“Yeah,” Draco agreed, glancing at Hairball who was having the time of his life charming the young female students of Hogwarts. “Merlin adopted me, so I’m paying it forward.”

“Merlin?” Ron asked.

As if on cue, Merlin came hopping down onto the counter and curled himself near Draco’s arm, staring at the three calculatingly.

“This is Merlin,” Draco said, nudging the black ball of fur. “He adopted me and protected me from pranksters, didn’t you?”

If cats could turn their nose up smugly, Merlin sure would have.

“That’s nice of you,” Hermione said as she offered his hand to the grumpy cat. Merlin sniffed it, but then turned his face away.

“It takes a while for him to warm up to anyone,” Draco said, stroking Merlin’s fur. “He’s my cat, not the shop’s cat. He doesn’t usually come down, because he prefers to sit near the radiator upstairs.”

Merlin looked up, then stalked over towards Harry. He sniffed the young man, and head-butted his hand.

“He likes you,” Draco said with almost awe. “That’s… interesting.”

Harry smiled down at Merlin who looked at him with calculating eyes. “That’s because he knows we’re the same.”

The others looked at them questioningly, but he didn’t say anything more on that matter.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The Golden Trio became regular patrons of the café, and Draco had a feeling that it was due to Hermione’s insistence. Every time she came over, she would end up ignoring the two and instead chased the three kittens all over the café, joining whichever group was currently entertaining them.

Merlin had somehow claimed ownership of Harry’s lap and would nap there whenever he was around, sparking jealousy from Draco, because Merlin always preferred the radiator to his lap.

“That’s because you’re cold,” Harry said as he stroked Merlin’s fur. “Not personality-wise, but your body temperature is quite low.”

Draco did end up extending the café hours and hiring more kids from the facility that Sarah personally approved of. He also adopted three more cats; Lizzy, Furball, and Grinch. They were strays that the shelter found, and had lived a hard life on the streets, so Draco decided to take them to the café, where they would be spoiled and doted on.

He also had an agreement with the shelter that he would take some of the cats to the café during the opening hours, but then he’d have to return them at closing time because he couldn’t care for them yet. The staff at the shelter understood and was grateful anyway for his help.

It was one night, after he came back to the café after returning the kittens there, that he caught Harry still sitting at one of the tables in the now empty café, with Merlin on his lap as usual. There was something different about his demeanour, and Draco tiptoed closer to hear what he was saying.

“—for taking care of him while I couldn’t,” Draco caught the last bit of the sentence. “Your time is soon, isn’t it?” Harry asked softly, his hand still stroking Merlin’s fur. “I promise I will look after him, so you can go in peace. He’ll be sad, though.”

Logically, Draco knew that Merlin was already old and it would be his time soon. Still, it didn’t stop him from hoping that Merlin would live to thirty.

Merlin jumped out of Harry’s lap, and Harry took that as his cue to leave. Draco stayed in the small corner where he was hiding, and cried silently as he held onto Merlin, who chose his lap over the radiator for once.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Merlin died two months later, and Sarah and Draco held a small funeral for him, attended by some of the regulars of the café who had come to know the grumpy cat. Most of them knew how hard it was to lose a loved pet, and offered their condolences to Draco who had spent the day in tears.

Even Narcissa had come to comfort him, and the only good thing that happened to Draco that day was that both his mother and mother figure finally met each other.

It was while they were talking that he found out that Harry was the reason why they were not imprisoned and their funds weren’t seized. Sarah also told him that Harry had specifically asked for her to be Draco’s officer, because he knew she would treat him well. He had heard of Sarah from Kingsley, and was sure that she wouldn’t let Draco’s past cloud her judgment.

Due to the success of the café, they managed to secure the next door unit when it went for sale as well. Narcissa agreed to move in with them, and as Draco predicted, Sarah and Narcissa did like each other, bonding over their shared love of the same boy.

And one day, as he was manning the register, he heard a short, grunted mew, and looked up to see Harry standing in front of him, cradling a small black ball of fur that was staring at him calculatingly; the same way Merlin used to look at him.

“Hey,” Harry greeted. “I found him being abused by some unruly kids and saved him. He’s a stray, but I’ve already brought him to the vet, so he’s clean and vaccinated now. I thought maybe you’d like to take him in.”

Harry handed the kitten to him, and the kitten grunted although he stayed put. The corner of Draco’s lips twitched at how similar he was to Merlin, and if he didn’t know better, he would have thought the kitten was Merlin’s.

“Thank you,” Draco said, “for him, and for everything you’ve done for me.”

“You’re welcome,” Harry said.

“Why, though?” Draco asked. “Is it only to feed your hero complex?”

Harry laughed. “I’m not that good of a person, Draco,” he said softly. “I don’t go to such lengths for everyone. I mean, I do try to do good deeds, but I wouldn’t go so far out of my way for everyone.”

“So I’m special?”

“Sort of,” Harry replied with a grin.

“Well, let me take you to dinner as thanks then.”

“Of course. Oh, and look, Merlin Jr. approves,” Harry said, motioning at the kitten who had started purring contentedly.

“You’re such a Gryffindork.”


End file.
